"In 1193, the Nalanda University complex was destroyed by Afghan Khilji-Ghilzai Muslims under Bakhtiyar Khalji; this event is seen as the final milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. He also burned Nalanda's major Buddhist library and Vikramshila University, as well as numerous Bhuddhist monasteries in India."

purple planet wrote:every thread about israel ( not america which i dont know enough to have a good opinion ) cannot be discussed without mentioning religion - and because its not ok to talk bad about religion by terms of service of this forum (which is ok and understandable) then any talk about israel would be unfair - the problem in israle is not about - land - oil- ethnicity - nationalism - water - or any other thing its only about religion and avoiding it would be unfair and would only lead to a distorted view on the situation

Unfortunately we can't discuss the nature of islam in the forum. Like you, and anyone else, I understand the need for it to be in the TOS. But it's quite frustrating to have an opinion that is imediatly cast out as racist/hateful/totaly unreasonable without any further analysis _ of the quran or, even more importantly, the hadiths.

"He turns his mind away from those phenomena and, having done so, inclines his mind to the property of deathlessness: 'This is peace, this is exquisite — the resolution of all fabrications; the relinquishment of all acquisitions; the ending of craving; dispassion; cessation; Unbinding.' " - Jhana Sutta

mettafuture wrote:... Muslims have been terrorizing Buddhists for over 800 years.

That is such a gross over-simplification that (especially in the context of recent posts in this thread) it is very nearly a lie.
In the last 800 years there have been wars between Muslims and Buddhists, Muslims and Christians, Hindus and Buddhists, Hindus and Christians, Christians (Protestant flavour) and Christians (Catholic flavour), Muslims (Sunni) and Muslims (Shia), etc, etc, et bloody cetera.
Some were driven by religion, some were driven by greed, some were driven by revenge, some were nominally driven by religion but actually driven by greed, etc.
There have been wars and revolutions and civil wars in every country in Europe, every country in Asia, every country in America (North and South), every country in Africa ... the only reason there haven't been wars in Antarctica is that penguins are too smart.

None of us is in a position to throw stones at any ethnic or religious group. We all live in glass houses.

mettafuture wrote:... Muslims have been terrorizing Buddhists for over 800 years.

That is such a gross over-simplification that (especially in the context of recent posts in this thread) it is very nearly a lie.
In the last 800 years there have been wars between Muslims and Buddhists, Muslims and Christians, Hindus and Buddhists, Hindus and Christians, Christians (Protestant flavour) and Christians (Catholic flavour), Muslims (Sunni) and Muslims (Shia), etc, etc, et bloody cetera.
Some were driven by religion, some were driven by greed, some were driven by revenge, some were nominally driven by religion but actually driven by greed, etc.
There have been wars and revolutions and civil wars in every country in Europe, every country in Asia, every country in America (North and South), every country in Africa ... the only reason there haven't been wars in Antarctica is that penguins are too smart.

None of us is in a position to throw stones at any ethnic or religious group. We all live in glass houses.

18 years ago I made one of the most important decisions of my life and entered a local Cambodian Buddhist Temple as a temple boy and, for only 3 weeks, an actual Therevada Buddhist monk. I am not a scholar, great meditator, or authority on Buddhism, but Buddhism is something I love from the Bottom of my heart. It has taught me sobriety, morality, peace, and very importantly that my suffering is optional, and doesn't have to run my life. I hope to give back what little I can to the Buddhist community, sincerely former monk John

Of course it is, with terrorists on both sides as I previously pointed out.

18 years ago I made one of the most important decisions of my life and entered a local Cambodian Buddhist Temple as a temple boy and, for only 3 weeks, an actual Therevada Buddhist monk. I am not a scholar, great meditator, or authority on Buddhism, but Buddhism is something I love from the Bottom of my heart. It has taught me sobriety, morality, peace, and very importantly that my suffering is optional, and doesn't have to run my life. I hope to give back what little I can to the Buddhist community, sincerely former monk John

Try to remain corralled by the OP... this begins to wander off, friends.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

Kim OHara wrote:None of us is in a position to throw stones at any ethnic or religious group. We all live in glass houses.

But not everyone's glass house has over 100 verses that call for war. And this isn't a bash against Islam. It's a fact. And perhaps it would be more fair to say Muslims started terrorizing Buddhists over 800 years ago. Of course, Buddhists have been attacked by other groups, but, arguably, Buddhists have been under attack from Muslims the longest.

And for the record, I'm not trying to start an Islamic hate fest with this thread. I've heard a lot of stories about Buddhists attacking Muslims, and I wanted to know more about what may have provoked these attacks, and the history between Buddhists and Muslims.

Have you ever read the Bible, its not exactly all peace and love, plenty of calls to war, and to this day its followers getting involved in and starting wars. The problem is there's a whole lot of muslim bashing going on in the media, and quite simply its not a one way street with muslims causing all the problems, most of the problems with muslims today are in direct result of a massive military overreaction by the western powers. Al queda has no one but Americans to thank for their wide spread popularity today, they were originally a fringe group with not even as much influence as fellow right wingers like Jerry Falwell.

18 years ago I made one of the most important decisions of my life and entered a local Cambodian Buddhist Temple as a temple boy and, for only 3 weeks, an actual Therevada Buddhist monk. I am not a scholar, great meditator, or authority on Buddhism, but Buddhism is something I love from the Bottom of my heart. It has taught me sobriety, morality, peace, and very importantly that my suffering is optional, and doesn't have to run my life. I hope to give back what little I can to the Buddhist community, sincerely former monk John

i wish people will watch it to know whats going on - whoever allready knows more or less !shouldnt! look at this cause it just causes you ill-will and destroys the metta -

but if its to educate people about reality - and will help people understand that people who hate on islam dont do it just cause they cant except any exotic strange religion but because there are reason for that

i dont think people here should waste any precious time on politics especially not the kind that cause ill-will but i think that to see that even the "rock-throwers" might have a point is worth it

Please send merit to my dog named Mika who has passed away - thanks in advance

lyndon taylor wrote:Have you ever read the Bible, its not exactly all peace and love...

Who ever said it was?

and to this day its followers getting involved in and starting wars.

Of course.

The problem is there's a whole lot of muslim bashing going on in the media

It depends on your definition of bashing.

and quite simply its not a one way street with muslims causing all the problems, most of the problems with muslims today are in direct result of a massive military overreaction by the western powers. Al queda has no one but Americans to thank for their wide spread popularity today, they were originally a fringe group with not even as much influence as fellow right wingers like Jerry Falwell.

I completely agree with this point.

purple planet wrote:if you are looking for curent attacks you can see the buddhist defence legue facebook page

but caution this will cause you to feel ill-will

its very graphic with strong images ! (at the moment theres a dead monk image)

remember not to spend to much time on that page - its like anti-metta time there - i dont think you need yourself to see it - so maybe for your blog and thats it - and for other people just to get the general idea

Please send merit to my dog named Mika who has passed away - thanks in advance

remember not to spend to much time on that page - its like anti-metta time there - i dont think you need yourself to see it - so maybe for your blog and thats it - and for other people just to get the general idea

"anti-metta time." I've probably seen worse over the last few days; images of children raped and beheaded, etc. I have a strong stomach, and I don't think I've felt any hate during my research. I've tried to keep an even temper.

One of the causes and conditions of being a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Christian, or an anything is being a human being subject to aging, sickness, and death. Without that cause, the others cease to exist. It's regretable that we first tend not to reconcile our disagreements based upon our common ground but rather based upon our differences.

Unfortunately, although this is true it is armchair philosophy. The reality on the ground is that if one is a Buddhist in Burma and one's relatives and friends are being murdered...well the results are there for all to see and ongoing.